Is an election do-over in the works? School expansion vote falls short - Palmetto Bay - MiamiHerald.com

The Montessori school in
Palmetto Bay wanted a to improve their school , offering up a new master site
plan that included significant updating and replacement of the one-story north
and south buildings with two-story L-shaped facilities.

Improvements cost money,
and as the school officials stated, moving forward with this plan is contingent
upon increasing the enrollment.As
reported in the Miami Herald, School expansion vote falls short, by Lidia Dinkova;
James McGhee, the school’s headmaster advised that “It makes no sense to build such a large facility without an increased
enrollment.”

So how many new students
was Alexander Montessori School seeking?59.An increase of the maximum
number of students from 270 to 329.This
is for the six-acre Ludlam Road Elementary Campus, 14850 SW 67th Ave.This is not the campus located at the corner
of 144th and Old Cutler Road.

“We had hoped to win but we knew that 75
percent of the vote was a very high bar to get over,” said James McGhee, the
school’s headmaster. “But we are not going to give up.”

McGhee
said school officials will consult with their attorney and the village to
discuss other options, such as repeating the referendum, to reach their goal.

Only
voters who live within 2,000 feet of the school received ballots in the mail
during the recent special election. That added up to 330 people of whom 119
sent back their ballots, according to Miami-Dade County Elections Department
results certified by Palmetto Bay.

“It’s
very possible that if we had to conduct the referendum again, more people would
vote, and we could get the needed votes,” McGhee said. And if he gets a second
referendum, he said he would work harder to educate residents about the
school's expansion plans.

I wonder what gives them the right to a do-over election? Was their some irregulatity or was the election flawed in any way? If not, I am not sure why the school is entitled to a do-over. I am sure, however, that the Village Council will give them a do-over since they want to avoid a lawsuit. I am all for avoiding lawsuits, but I am not sure that I would give the school unauthorized rights just to avoid a lawsuit. I could possible see a right to a different election if and only if the school changes their proposal in some material way.